Electrochemical Detection of Alcohol using Enzyme Sensor with Chromatography Paper and its Potential Application as halal Sensor

The Islamic law forbids Muslims from consuming food that contains porcine derivatives and alcohol, among others. The halal term is not limited to only the food ingredients but also considers the absence of non-halal species mixed during packaging or storage process. As these criteria are difficult to be decided by consumers alone, Muslims countries usually use a special label or certificate called halal label on food packaging or restaurants. However this label is still scarcely available in non-Muslim countries. Therefore, Muslims who go to these countries for study or travel purposes always find it difficult to decide which food is halal for them. Although many researches studied on halal authentication in general, seldom do they aim for common people in their daily usage. This research is a preliminary study aimed to develop a `halal sensor` especially for the above people. One of the major factors to decide the halal status of food is whether alcohol is included in the ingredient. This paper discusses the detection of ethanol using enzymatic sensor with chromatography paper on top of carbon paste electrode. The relation between ethanol concentrations and electrode potential is studied.